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Overlord - Chapter 16
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1
What popped into Ainz’s field of vision after he teleported was a hill. Well, it wasn’t really tall enough to be called a hill. It was a gently sloped mound of at most twenty feet. Plants with pointed leaves about as tall as the meadow grass made it feel as though the ground had risen up like this a long time ago. Looking around, he saw other mounds, enough to make him think the entire area was made of similar topography. But of course, that was not right.
These landforms had been created by Mare, one of the Great Tomb of Nazarick’s guardians, with his magic. And hidden beneath this land were the surface-level walls of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
Ainz cast Fly and flew diagonally over it all at once. With his expanded view, he could see the grass-covered earth stretching into the distance and couldn’t make out any sign of the graveyard that made up the surface-level part of Nazarick. It seemed to have been completely buried.
Without stopping to admire the scenery, Ainz sped across the sky. The moment he reached a certain point, he experienced the sensation of penetrating a thin film, and the view before his eyes changed completely. The mounds of dirt disappeared, and the familiar sight of his home greeted him.
He’d broken through the protective wall of illusions.
Without slowing down, he flew toward the largest and most solemn Central Mausoleum—it was none other than the entrance to the Great Tomb of Nazarick. He approached the vicinity of the white mausoleum’s stairway still flying, and when he noticed a large number of figures below, he quelled his anxiety and landed lightly before them.
“Welcome back, Lord Ainz.” Following the gentle female voice’s lead, a number of others echoed the sentiment.
The woman at the front of the line in the snow-white dress was Albedo, the captain of the Great Tomb of Nazarick’s guardians. She was the one with the most up-to-date information on their status. The four maids behind her were members of the combat maid group, Pleiades. A pack of level-80 minions was lined up behind them.
After Ainz had talked with Albedo via Message, he’d immediately given orders to Narberal and teleported. One could infer Albedo’s skill as a manager from the number of people she’d gathered to welcome him back despite not even five minutes passing since the end of their Message.
Impressed, Ainz held up his hand lightly to return the greeting. Normally some words of appreciation would be appropriate, but now was not the time.
“Albedo, about what we discussed via Message…” …Is it true that Shalltear betrayed us? He closed his mouth without finishing his question. He was gripped by the feeling that if he put it into words, it would come true. That and it was too dangerous a topic to discuss in front of minions.
“Yes, would you like to change locations?”
“I see… Then the Throne Room?”
“Yes, sir. Then, Yuri. Please give Lord Ainz his ring.”
From the maids behind her, one with glasses swiftly stepped forward. The clothing she wore was a combat maid uniform, same as Narberal’s, but there were several small differences. Narberal’s uniform prioritized defense while hers emphasized ease of movement, as evidenced by the lack of metal plates on the front of her skirt. Spikes stuck out of her gauntlets and probably created a brutal weapon when she made fists. The semitransparent jewel set in her rather thick blue choker shone not with the reflection of light but with a flickering flame. Her hair was done up in a French twist, and her shapely face displayed an intelligence that others surmised from just a glance was both sharp and cold. Her name was Yuri Alpha and she was the deputy leader of the Pleiades. A man—Sebas—was their leader, so it could be said that among the maids, she was the coordinator.
She held out a tray with both hands. On it, a ring was enshrined on a purple cloth—a Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown.
Ainz took it and put it on his ring finger. He was apprehensive about the possibility of this ring, which allowed free movement within the Great Tomb of Nazarick, being stolen while he was out, so he’d had the guardians of Nazarick hold on to it for him.
Gazing at the ring on his finger bone, he nodded, satisfied that the off feeling he’d experienced while out the past several days had gone away.
“Okay, let’s go, Albedo.”
Since teleporting directly into the Throne Room itself was forbidden, they activated their rings and went to the closest room, Lemegeton.
Then they opened the heavy door and proceeded toward the crystal throne in the back.
Ainz fired the questions that he’d wanted to ask before. “Okay, before we start, allow me to ask a few questions. You say Shalltear rebelled, but what about Sebas? He was at the same location. Sebas hasn’t rebelled?”
“No, there is no sign of rebellion from him.”
“Then have we gotten his information?”
“Yes, that’s been done. According to him, they encountered some bandits. After that, Shalltear headed to their headquarters to capture them. There was nothing suspicious at that time, and in fact, she was apparently speaking of her devotion to you.”
“I see. So something must have happened to make her revolt after that?”
“Yes… Also, it appears she had two vampire bride minions with her, but they both seem to have perished.”
“Hmm. Well, weaklings like that—No, wait. That means something must have happened to kill them. Okay, now let me give you the gist of what happened on my end.”
By the time they reached the base of the throne’s steps, he’d mostly finished, but he hadn’t gotten to the part about the graveyard yet; that was important, so he continued.
Albedo listened quietly and then bowed her head in acknowledgment when he finished.
Ainz felt compelled to ask if there had been any mistakes in his handling of events, but there was something else he wanted to know more urgently.
Looking up at the throne, he uttered the necessary phrase. “Open master source.”
A translucent window that looked like the menu but was different opened up. The board was full of countless words divided up by tabs. This was the Great Tomb of Nazarick’s administrative system. Things like the daily upkeep cost, current locations of minions and their types, what kind of devices (including magic traps) were currently active—all this information was displayed there, and it was set up so that general admin tasks could be completed right from the menu. In the Yggdrasil days, there was a different way to view it, and it could be seen from anywhere at any time, but through experimentation, Ainz had learned that in this world it was possible to view it only from the heart of their headquarters, the Throne Room.
It’s a pain to have to come here every single time I want to use it, that’s for sure, but…I have a ring, so I guess it’s not a big deal.
With a practiced hand, Ainz opened the NPC tab. The names of the NPCs he and his guildmates created were listed there. Ainz changed the sorting from alphabetical to level, starting from the highest, and scanned down until his eyes stopped at a certain point. Then he looked silently at Albedo.
“Yes, that’s her current status.”
Among all the names written in white letters, only Shalltear Bloodfallen’s was black. Ainz knew what that change meant, but… He looked twice, three times, and when he realized it wasn’t his eyes playing tricks on him, he screamed in his mind, That can’t be! If his bony face could have moved, it would have no doubt been twisted up in shock.
“…Is she dead?” he asked Albedo, not wanting to accept it yet. He was hoping maybe something had changed since coming to this world, but Albedo’s words were hopelessly brutal.
“In the event of death, the letters disappear and the space becomes temporarily blank. I believe this means rebellion.”
“Ahh… Yeah…” He remembered the times he’d seen letters change like this in Yggdrasil.
Despite what Albedo had said, the truth was a little different. Certainly in a broad sense, it could mean rebellion, but the change indicated that the NPC was taking hostile actions temporarily as a result of being mind controlled by a third party.
But that can’t be! he spat again in his mind.
Shalltear was an undead, same as Ainz. In other words, for better or worse, they were a race immune to psychic effects. How could she be mind controlled?
It made more sense to think that she had betrayed Nazarick on her own, that she’d had issues with the way she was being treated or that someone outside had made her a better offer. If that wasn’t the case, it stood to reason that the cause was something specific in this world about which Ainz had no knowledge.
Nfirea’s face flashed through his mind. Yes, if someone possessed one of those mysterious congenital talents like he had, perhaps they could make psychic effects work on undead.
“…So it’s possible she’s under the special influence of some power or being unique to this world?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know. But it’s a fact that Shalltear has risen against us. I advise organizing a suppression party at once.”
Ainz realized something with a start: It was possible the minions gathered to greet his return were all meant to suppress Shalltear. Thinking back on it, many of them possessed holy attacks, which would be effective against undead—fairly rare within Nazarick.
Albedo continued in a steely voice. “I’ll take command. I’m thinking of choosing Cocytus and Mare as vice commanders if you’ll allow it.” That was a perfect lineup for eliminating Shalltear; it was obvious how serious she was.
Shalltear Bloodfallen was strong. Based purely on strength, she was the strongest guardian besides Gargantua. It would actually be difficult to ensure victory against her without the party members she mentioned.
“What do you think?”
“Mm, it seems a bit hasty. Why in the world did she rebel? We need to figure that out first.”
“Just what I thought you would say; you’re so kind, Lord Ainz. But I see no need to have mercy on someone who’s shown hostility to a Supreme Being, no matter what the reason.”
“That’s not it, Albedo. I’m not being merciful. I simply don’t understand why Shalltear would rebel.”
If there was the possibility of this happening to others, he needed to find a way to handle it. If the cause was her treatment or some other dissatisfaction, there could be other NPCs and minions harboring the same feelings. He needed to come up with countermeasures in case the same thing happened with someone else in the future. Even if she was being inescapably compelled by someone with a talent, they needed a plan for that scenario as well.
When he’d heard via Message that one of the NPCs his guildmates created had rebelled, he had the feeling he hadn’t been able to gain acceptance from the members as guild master, which was so shocking it felt like his knees would give out. But this was no longer an issue that could stop there.
He had to solve this not as guild master but as the absolute ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. It was far too early to give up hope. If—although it shouldn’t be possible—Shalltear was being forced to rebel, he had to save her. Managers who acted all-important but couldn’t save their subordinates when they were in trouble weren’t fit to lead from the top. Ainz was a ruler, so he had to protect his followers.
“So where is Shalltear right now? Have you pinpointed her location?”
“My apologies. It is still unconfirmed. The first thing we did was to restrain her direct subordinates and simultaneously boost our defenses by mobilizing some minions on the first floor, for we thought that Shalltear might attempt to attack Nazarick.”
“I see. Then first, let’s figure out where she is. We’ll pay a visit to your sister.”
2
The fifth level of the Great Tomb of Nazarick was a freezing cold place designed to be like a glacier. Mountains of pale ice that tricked the eyes into thinking they were glowing from within jutted out of the endless snowy landscape. Flakes of white whirled out of the heavy, overcast sky, toyed with by a capricious wind that picked up a freezing chill whipping past the ice. Frosty trees in the distance were caked with snow and looked like giants concealing themselves from head to toe with pure-white robes.
Ainz’s clothing whipped wildly in the cold, biting wind. Remembering Albedo was with him, he asked her, “Are you cold? You can put on armor if you want. We can spare the time for that.”
Chill attacks had no effect on Ainz, and he would never freeze no matter how cold it got. But that wasn’t the case for Albedo. She certainly wouldn’t take any damage from this level of cold if she was properly equipped, but all she had on at present was her white dress. He’d asked her before they teleported as well, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that she was enduring it to show how tough she was.
But she smiled gently in response to his worries. “Thank you for your concern, Lord Ainz, but I am all right. This level of chill is no problem for me.”
Ainz nodded an okay.
Normally the chill damage came with an area effect that slowed movement, but it cost extra maintenance, so it wasn’t currently activated. Had that worked out in their favor? Or did Albedo have a magic item or skill that cut the chill damage?
Generally, an NPC’s gear was given to them by the guild member who created them, and the only ones Ainz could list with confidence were Pandora’s Actor and a couple of others, although he had taken another look at everyone’s data right after they’d been transported.
Ainz chased the questions out of his mind and looked at the large two-story, Western-style building in front of him. In this wintry world covered in ice, only this building gave off a different vibe. It felt exactly like a mansion out of a fairy tale, but its surface was frozen, and the cold gave the place a disagreeable atmosphere. Actually, the name of the place was far removed from anything fairy tale–esque; it was called the Ice Prison. All who opposed Nazarick were consigned here.
“Shall we go?” Ainz said and pushed open the ice-covered door. It opened quite easily despite the thick layer of ice caking it—as if welcoming those entering.
A chill poured out the moment the door was opened—the inside of the building was even colder than the freezing world outside. When the wind blew over her entire body, Albedo shivered for the first time. Noticing this, Ainz reached into extra-dimensional space and removed a red cape. The hem had a pattern like blazing flames.
“You should put this on, Albedo. It doesn’t have any particular magic effects, but it should still keep out the cold.”
“What a wonderful cape! Thank you! I’ll treasure it as long as I live!”
He never said he was giving it to her, but seeing her ear-to-ear smile, he couldn’t say anything.
He looked through the open door. A dark, quiet corridor ran deep inside.
“Actually, the survivors from the Sunlit Scripture are in here, too, huh?”
“Yes. Neuronist is taking proper care of them. This is so warm… It’s almost like being wrapped in your arms, Lord Ainz… Tee-hee-hee.”
“Oh? That’s good.” There would be nothing warm about being wrapped up in arms with no flesh or skin, but he couldn’t very well point that out. He wasn’t that dense.
Keeping Albedo, who was writhing in the cape, completely outside his field of vision, Ainz slowly went inside. “What are you doing? Our time is… this time it’s limited.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
Ainz’s passive skill Immortal Blessing told him where every undead in the building was located. It was annoying, so he turned it off and, ignoring them, walked down the hallway coated in pale ice. If he hadn’t taken measures against travel obstruction, he probably would have slipped.
“…Shall I call Neuronist, Lord Ainz? For Nazarick’s highest ruler to walk here unguided seems…”
“That’s not necessary. We could, but she just talks so much. We have an issue that needs to get resolved immediately. I want to avoid wasting even the shortest amount of time.”
“Understood. Then I will tell Neuronist in no uncertain terms that she must not make any small talk until this incident is over.”
“No, no, that’s not necessary. I’m not that bothered by it.”
“But…”
Next to Albedo and her frown, Ainz smiled wryly with his unmoving face. He was glad he was valued as a leader, but soon he wouldn’t even be able to make a simple idle complaint.
“It’s fine. I love all of you. Your good points, your bad points—they were all created by my old friends. If I feel displeasure at something they put so much care into, I’m the one who should be sorry.”
That’s right. If Shalltear had rebelled in accordance with her settings, he’d have to forgive her, because in that case she’d only have been following her creator Peroroncino’s will. But he wasn’t the type to sow seeds of discontent within the guild. That was puzzling. If anything, he was the kind of joker who loved the harmony he had with his guildmates.
Considering that, this must be an outside job. And the board indicated that she’s under mind control… Still, there are a lot of things that aren’t certain, and I can’t say for sure that none of the programming has changed since coming to this world. But then, it’s not as if I memorized all the NPCs’ personality settings, either. Besides, it seems like parts of their personalities resemble the guild members who created them… I guess there is no one who could have set up every single thing, so maybe that’s just how it works? Then is it something to do with Shalltear’s…settings? Like maybe she was built like a time bomb? He likes eroge, so maybe he programmed a climax event…? Ugh, that’s totally possible…
Ainz sighed weakly and finally noticed the strange changes that had come over the woman at his side. She was still facing straight ahead, walking along quietly, but there was no longer any sign of her trying to match his pace. Furthermore, though her eyes were fixed forward, it was less like she was looking ahead than that her gaze was simply locked in that direction. He discovered that she was mumbling something and strained his ears.
“Loves… Loves… Loves…” She repeated only that, skipping over the word like a broken record.
“…Hey, Albedo. Everyone. I said everyone.”
Her head twisted in an odd way to look at him. “B-but that means you love me! Is that correct?!”
“U-uh…well, yeah.”
“Tee-heee!” She put her feet together and hopped in a cute, charming way—and crashed into the ceiling.
That’s what it was like to have strength on a different scale.
Crack—or more like snap! The ceiling reacted in a surprisingly loud way, making it quite clear how much momentum she’d had. Upon hearing the sound like a cannonball impact, a number of ghostly monsters revealed their semitransparent forms. They were the undead that lurked in this building, all of whom Ainz’s skill had registered earlier.
“Ah, you all can go back. It’s nothing.”
He looked at Albedo, who seemed so pleased she might break into song. Despite having crashed into the ceiling, she must not have felt any pain due to a racial skill that reduced her damage taken.
The various undead bowed before disappearing again, returning to their job waiting for raiders.
“…Albedo. We’re almost to your sister’s room. Are you ready?”
Her elated expression tensed up in an instant.
“Understood. Then we’ll need a doll.”
“Yeah, give it to me.”
When Albedo held her hand out toward the wall, a transparent hand emerged and dropped a doll into her palm. It was a baby doll, roughly the size one might expect a real infant to be.
Accepting it, Ainz took a hard look. “It’s so creepy.”
It was a caricature of a baby. It looked like a twisted kewpie doll, and especially creepy were its big googly eyes. Ainz furrowed his nonexistent brow and looked toward the end of the corridor. There was a fresco painted over the whole wall with the door in the center.
Perhaps a mother and child? It was a painting of a gentle mother cradling a baby.
If that were all, it would have been a fine painting, but over time, the plaster had come off in places, creating a horrible scene. The baby in particular was mostly gone, its remains almost skeletal.
Ainz pushed open the door. It glided open without a sound—but the crying of babies echoed inside. Not one, or two, or repeating echoes. The crying of tens, hundreds of babies—countless crying voices became one noise and swept over them. But there were no babies to be seen in the room.
They couldn’t be seen, but they were there.
In the middle of the unfurnished, empty chamber stood a cradle and one woman quietly rocking it. In spite of Ainz and Albedo’s entrance, the woman, who wore black mourning clothes, said nothing and just kept rocking the cradle. They couldn’t see her face. Her long black hair completely covered it.
Normally if there was an NPC who ignored Ainz when he appeared, Albedo would reprimand them, but now she didn’t say anything. Ainz knew why, and the way she had braced herself, a bit on edge, spoke volumes.
“Should we get started?”
“Yes, I think so. Do be careful.”
As if Ainz’s question and Albedo’s response were a signal, the woman’s movements stopped dead. Then she slowly reached into the cradle and took out the baby. No, it wasn’t a baby. It was a doll.
“No, no, no, no!” She raised it high over her head and threw it with all her might. The doll hit the wall and shattered to pieces. “My, my, my, my babyyy!” The woman gnashed her teeth, and as if the clacking sound were a cue, the crying voices from the walls and floor grew stronger, and the ones emitting the cries became visible. The floor was littered with lumps of meat like semitransparent babies.
“I wonder how much Tabula spent to station so many monsters here.”
The baby-like, squirming lumps of meat were monsters with levels in the late teens called carrion babies.
In Yggdrasil, by using in-game currency or completing a microtransaction, players could station in their dungeons monsters that didn’t spawn automatically; however, since they didn’t respawn after being killed, most players considered this an extravagance, and unless they were focused on role-playing, they didn’t do it.
That Tabula Smaragdina would station this many—albeit low-level—carrion babies here gave a glimpse into the kinds of things he cared about.
While Ainz was busy being impressed, the woman had produced a huge pair of scissors from somewhere, gripping them tightly. Her eyes bore a hole in Ainz and Albedo through a curtain of her disheveled hair. “You people, you people, you people, you people kidnapped, kidnapped, kidnapped, kidnapped my baby, my baby, my baby, my baby, didn’t you, didn’t you, didn’t you, didn’t youuuuu?!!!”
“She sure is your big sister. You’re so alike.”
“What?! R-really?”
Perhaps taking their leisurely conversation as an act of aggression, the woman whipped into a wind of murderous intent and flew at Ainz. She ran with a bizarrely long stride, effectively reducing the distance between them to zero in no time, her mourning clothes flapping behind her. She then poised the scissors way up as though to stab him and—
“Here is your child.”
When Ainz ****** the doll at her, she froze as if someone had pushed the stop button. Then she put away the scissors and slowly took it from him.
“Ohhhhhhh!”
She would never let her precious child go again. It was in that gentle way a mother has that she embraced it, and then she returned her baby to the cradle. After that she turned her face, hidden by her hair, to Ainz and Albedo.
“If it isn’t Lord Momonga and the cutest of my little sisters. Good day to you both.”
“Long time no see, Nigredo. You…well, I’m happy to see you haven’t changed a bit.”
The only reason he’d been able to handle the situation in stride was that he’d seen her madness back when this world was a game. But I did scream back then… The memory of being invited to see a new character and then attacking with all his might along with the other screaming guild members who were there was nostalgic for him.
“It’s been a while, sister.”
Yes, Nigredo was Albedo’s elder sibling, another NPC created by Tabula Smaragdina. If Albedo was a strong expression of his fondness for personality gaps, Nigredo was an embodiment of his love for horror films.
He wasn’t a bad guy, but he sure was intense. If you talked to him normally, he came off as a clever, respectable guy, but if you dug in a bit, he could be…“passionate.”
As Ainz was remembering his old guildmate, Nigredo parted her long black hair in the middle to reveal her face. She probably thought it was rude to keep it hidden, but Ainz would have preferred it that way.
Her face was truly grotesque. It had no skin; the muscles were all exposed. Her teeth, which came across as gorgeous as pearls for her lack of lips, and eyes, which seemed to sparkle for her lack of eyelids, would have been pretty taken on their own, but all together, they were just revolting.
The face straight out of a horror movie warped into an even weirder shape. Since she didn’t have skin, it was hard to tell, but unlike Ainz who lacked muscles, it was possible to guess that she was smiling.
“So, Lord Momonga, what can I—?”
“Oh, sorry. You weren’t in the Throne Room that day. I don’t go by Momonga anymore. Now I’m Ainz Ooal Gown. Call me Ainz from now on.”
They heard a surprised gasp, and then Nigredo bowed her head. “Understood, Lord Ainz.”
“So, Nigredo, I came because I have a favor to ask you. Will you lend me your power?”
“My power? For living or nonliving?”
“Uh…living…living, right…? I’ll just say it. The target is Shalltear Bloodfallen.”
“The floor guardian? …Please excuse me. If it’s your order, Lord Ainz, I will begin immediately.” Her voice was incredulous for a moment, but she quickly recovered.
“Thanks, Nigredo.”
After replying to Albedo with a playful thumbs-up, Nigredo began casting a number of spells. There were many different types, and Ainz recalled that he had heard most of them recently—the various spells he’d had Narberal perform the night before.
Nigredo was a caster and a high-level NPC occupying one of the highest positions in Nazarick. Her face had nothing to do with it, but she was actually built with classes specialized in investigation and intelligence-gathering magic. That’s why they’d come here to locate Shalltear.
At a speed worthy of the power she possessed, she gave the results. “I’ve found her.”
“Use Crystal Monitor.”
She cast the spell and an armored figure standing among some trees in a forest clearing appeared in a floating crystal monitor.
Ainz groaned. “Brilliant. It’s great you could pinpoint her exact location. Guess you’re not specialized for noth…” His words of admiration trailed off when the image came into focus.
The figure standing in the picture wore full crimson body armor that looked as if it was wet with blood. The helmet with the open face looked like a swan’s head, and bird feathers stuck out from either side. Decorations designed to be like wings draped across the figure’s chest from its shoulders, and its waist was wrapped in a crimson skirt. In one hand, it held a strange large spear that resembled a pipette or almost like a baster used for cooking. Shalltear Bloodfallen had acquired, among others, the faith magic–caster class most highly specialized in combat, walküre, and this was her final combat form.
Albedo raised an alarmed voice upon seeing Shalltear’s weapon. “The Pipette Lance! That’s the god-tier magic item Lord Peroroncino gave her!”
Ainz also had god-tier items—enough to fill all his gear slots with them—but that didn’t mean they were easy to make.
In Yggdrasil, players could enhance items by inlaying them with data crystals, but the crystals monsters dropped varied wildly in level of performance. Creating a god-tier item required collecting multiple “high rare” drops. Not only that, but also creating the vessel—a weapon like a sword—required metal so rare people called it super rare. For that reason, it wasn’t uncommon to see level-100 players who didn’t have a single god item. Even in Ainz Ooal Gown, one of the top ten guilds, the NPCs weren’t completely outfitted with god-tier gear. At most, they had one or two items.
And Shalltear’s was the Pipette Lance. The name sounded stupid, but its power was sinister. There existed a data crystal that would allow a percentage of damage dealt to return as healing for the one equipping the item, and the Pipette Lance had specialized in that ability.
“…I’m going over there right away.”
“Huh? P-please wait! If Shalltear is fully outfitted, we can anticipate a battle on the spot. We must select some guards for you!”
“We don’t have time for that. If negotiations break down, I’ll withdraw immediat—”
“Lord Ainz, please excuse the interruption.” A woman’s voice echoed in his head. It was Narberal, whom he’d left in E-Rantel.
Ainz was a bit irritated at being contacted now of all times. “What, Narberal? Right now I’m—” He’d been about to say “busy,” but he stopped himself—because he remembered what happened last night when he’d ended the Message with Entoma. At the time, he hadn’t thought there was anything he could do, but if he had acted sooner, maybe things would have been different. He could have left Nfirea’s rescue to Narberal. This hint of regret brought back Ainz’s levelheadedness.
The NPCs respected him as their absolute, so it was easy for them to put the highest priority on his words, even if he’d misjudged the situation. That was why he had to do everything as carefully as possible, with a clear head—so he made no mistakes.
That’s asking too much of a normal guy like me. He sneered at his holey decision-making skills and smiled wryly, thinking how impossible this all was. But then, sensing the retainer-like vibes from Narberal across the Message as she waited for her master’s commands, he shuddered as if struck by lightning.
What am I saying? I’m Ainz Ooal Gown. I’m the ruler of Nazarick, the one who goes by everyone’s name. That’s right. I’m not Satoru Suzuki. Impossible? No. If I’m going by this name, then it’s something I just have to do.
“…Never mind, it’s nothing. What is it? It must be an emergency if you Messaged me, right?”
“Sir. Actually, someone from the adventurers’ guild is asking for you.”
“…If it’s about last night, have them wait… No, that can’t be it. It must be something else, right?”
“Yes. As you so wisely perceive, my lord.” She spoke vaguely and the following silence showed her hesitation. Eventually she seemed to reach some kind of conclusion and continued. “Another problem has come up that is unrelated to that one. It’s…a vampire issue.”
“What? A vampire?” His eyes moved to the crystal monitor where Shalltear continued to stand stock-still. “Did they say something about it? Like maybe that it had silver hair or crimson armor?”
“No, unfortunately the one who came calling for you is only a messenger. They’ll discuss details at the guild, so they want you to go there immediately. They said they’ve gathered a few adventurer teams already… The messenger is actually still waiting nearby. What should I tell him?”
Ainz closed his eyes. Not that he had any—he just extinguished the flames in his orbits. “Give me your opinion, Albedo. I got this message from Narberal…”
When he finished his explanation, she lowered her eyes for a few moments, and then looked back up at him. “Under the circumstances, since we’re lacking information, there are pros and cons to either course of action. I don’t think there’s anything to do but choose according to your preference, Lord Ainz. Personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with ignoring humans…”
Ainz thanked Albedo and contemplated his options.
If he prioritized Shalltear and something went horribly wrong…
If he prioritized the guild and Shalltear’s status changed…
When he imagined worst-case scenarios, they just got worse and worse.
If his guildmates were there, they could have all decided right away by majority rule. But they weren’t. As the one taking care of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the one who had taken on their name, Ainz had to make the decision on his own.
He couldn’t make up his mind, but then he did. “Albedo, send someone out to keep an eye on Shalltear. I’m going to the guild in E-Rantel. When that’s done, take me to Shalltear.”
“Understood.”
“Did you hear that, Narberal?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll tell the messenger you’re on your way.”
“Okay, please do. Then, sorry, Albedo, but I’m heading out.”
“All right. I will do as you said and send out a few minions.”
“Thanks. Oh, and I’m giving my ring to Yuri. I’m counting on you to pick it up later.”
There was something he wanted to give the librarian, but he decided he didn’t have time and used his ring to teleport away.
The sisters were left alone in the room and the atmosphere relaxed. As if she’d been waiting for that moment, Nigredo’s eyes twinkled with curiosity. “So what is it? What did Shalltear do?”
“Oh. Seems like she betrayed us.”
“…I can’t believe it… Really? Are you serious?”
“I can’t believe it, either, but that’s the conclusion we’ve reached.”
“Then shouldn’t you just kill her? From the looks of it, Lord Ainz doesn’t want to do that, but…?”
“Yeah. He’s so kind… No, he must have decided that it could be a huge mistake to kill her without investigating the reason for her rebellion. Lord Ainz is always taking those kinds of things into consideration.”
Nigredo sighed a satisfied yet unsatisfied response. “Got it. Well, until the minions you dispatch begin their physical surveillance, I’ll keep an eye on her with magic from here.”
“Thanks, Nigredo.” She judged the conversation had ended and was about to unleash the power of her ring, when she realized it seemed like her sister wanted to say something more. When she was in her right mind, she was the type who said what needed to be said; there was only one reason she would hesitate to speak.
Albedo didn’t want to ask, but on the off chance it was about something else, she felt she had to. “What is it, sister?”
“I’m not allowed to leave the Ice Prison, so I’m not up-to-date. Is Spinel still doing well?”
…I knew it, thought Albedo. She regretted asking, but she continued the conversation without letting it show. “Nigredo, you shouldn’t call her that.”
“I hate her. Even if she was made by Lord Tabula just like us—No, she was created by some completely different process. She can’t be trusted.”
“No, c’mon, sister. She’s precious.”
“To me, it seems like you’re being tricked. She’s going to bring great misfortune on Nazarick. I would bet money on it.”
“…Well, we’ll never see eye to eye on that. I don’t believe she’ll cause any harm.”
“Oh? Well, if the captain of the floor guardians has decided that, then I won’t say any more. But do remember—in your capacity as captain—that I worry about it.”
“Okay, I will.” Albedo suppressed her sigh and teleported. Normally she would have laughingly dismissed Nigredo’s worries, but today they stuck in her mind like a thorn.
Everyone created by the Supreme Beings was absolutely loyal. That’s what she’d thought, but then Shalltear betrayed them. Did that mean there was a chance others might betray them as well? There might be a chance my little sister would rebel. She couldn’t get the thought out of her mind. It could actually even work in her favor…
When she appeared after teleporting, her eyes were in a trance. “Lord Ainz, my love. I am your loyal dog and slave,” she declared to the man who was not present. “Even if all of Nazarick turns against you, I will remain at your side.”
3
“Okay, Momon, take any open seat.”
There were six men in the room. Three were armed and brawny. Then there was the one who had stood to prompt him to sit—robust but not armed. There was also a lean, nervous-looking man in a robe. Lastly, there was a portly fellow in the back.
As Ainz sat down with all eyes on him, the standing man spoke again. “First, allow us to introduce ourselves. I am the head of this city’s adventurers’ guild, Pluton Ainzach.”
He was a man in the virile prime of his life. The vibes he gave off were those of a veteran soldier, and Ainz had no doubt that he was considered by all a brilliant warrior.
“And this is the mayor, Panasolei Grouzé Day Rettenmaier.” Panasolei responded to Ainz’s slight bow with a brief wave of his hand.
He was portly—No, to come out and say it, he was obese. There was an overgenerous amount of fat around his abdomen, and so much flesh gathered under his chin, it left onlookers in disbelief. With that much meat on his face, he had the look of a depressed, overweight bulldog. His hair was thin enough that his head was reflecting the light, and the hairs that were there had turned white.
“Nice to meet you, Momon.” Due to a congested nose, he exhaled a “pfe-hee.”
Ainz bowed to the piglike man.
“This is the head of the wizards’ guild, Theo Rakheshir.”
The extremely lean nervous-looking man with a delicate frame bowed to Ainz.
“And these three are, like you, some of E-Rantel’s finest adventurers who’ve responded to our summons. From the right is team Kralgra’s representative, Igvarge; the Celestial Wolves’ representative, Bellote; and team Rainbow’s representative, Moknach.”
The three men who were introduced all had impressive bearings suitable to the hue of the plates—mythril—hanging around their necks; their strength was palpable. The gear they had equipped, too—though junk from Ainz’s perspective—was better than that of most adventurers he had seen around town. All of them had different emotions in their eyes, but the one they had in common was curiosity.
One of the men—Igvarge, representative of the team called Kralgra—spoke in a stern voice while staring daggers at Ainz. “First, I’d like to ask a question, Guild Master Ainzach. I’ve never heard the name Momon before, but he must have performed quite a feat to be a mythril plate. What did he do?”
There was a vague hostility in his voice, but Ainzach replied cheerfully as if he didn’t notice. “He performed the deeds of taming the Wise King of the Forest and, yesterday, promptly resolving an incident in the graveyard.” “An incident in the graveyard?”
Instead of the puzzled Igvarge, it was the representative of the team called Rainbow, Moknach, who raised his voice in surprise.
“You mean the incident involving the appearance of large numbers of undead?”
“Pfe-hee! Your ears work fast, don’t they?! We got some troublesome news, so I had given orders to let out as little information as possible. Where did you hear about it?” Perhaps because of his congested sinuses, he kept making that stupid “poo-hee” noise all throughout the conversation. And then maybe because he was breathing through his mouth, there was almost no variation in his pitch. It felt exactly as off as it would have if he were reading preprepared dialogue in monotone.
“Do excuse me, Mayor. I only happened to hear it and would have trouble specifying from whom exactly. Naturally, I know none of the details.”
The two caught each other’s eyes and smiled—Moknach plastically, the mayor bitterly.
“Hmm. That doesn’t sound like the truth, but oh well. There are probably a lot of people who know there were undead on the rampage. Pfe-hee, sorry to interrupt.”
“No, it’s no trouble, Mayor. Anyhow, the guild judged he was an adventurer worthy of a mythril plate.”
“Based on that one thing? For resolving one incident? The ones who went through all the promotion exams in order aren’t going to be too happy about that!”
Igvarge had done away with his courtesy toward Ainzach and was now openly hostile, but a cool voice came from the side. “Hmph. Set him straight, Guild Master. I, too, am dissatisfied with Sir Momon being mythril.” The one who had interrupted was the head of the wizards’ guild, Rakheshir. There was something cynical in his expression, but Ainz could see it was aimed more at Igvarge than himself. Somehow, that was lost on the target, and Igvarge smiled at Rakheshir with goodwill.
“It seems like the head of the wizards’ guild agrees with me.”
“Heh-heh-heh.” Rakheshir pressed his thin lips together in a sneer. It was as if he’d just heard something hilarious. There was no goodwill in his expression—his eyes were clearly filled with contempt. “Oh? I think there’s a big difference between you and me.”
“What do you mean by—?”
“Stop it, Igvarge. Some at the guild believe the deed he performed was orichalcum rank.”
“Hngh!” Igvarge’s face was screaming, Of all the ridiculous nonsense!
In response, Rakheshir twisted his face into a derisive grin. “Sir Momon, with a party of only two—well, three if you count the Wise King of the Forest—broke through a mob of undead estimated to be thousands strong and defeated the man performing an evil ritual.”
“That just shows how good he is at sneaking around!”
Rakheshir sighed audibly. “Honestly, I agree with you. If it were just that one thing, I wouldn’t call Sir Momon orichalcum rank, but the remains of one of those undead proved his strength.” Here he paused to gaze intently at Ainz in his black armor. “…A skeletal dragon. That horrific monster has absolute magic defense, and he slayed it.”
“W-well! S-skeletal dragons are certainly strong! But a mythril-rank adventurer could defe—”
“Two at once?”
“What?!”
The yelp of surprise went up from not only Igvarge but also the other two adventurers as well, and something changed about the way they looked at Ainz. It was as if they were investigators testing the depth of a lake.
“There were remains of two of them. Could your teams break through a mob of thousands of undead, exterminate two skeletal dragons, and kill the ringleader behind an unknown phenomenon, all in a short amount of time? Adventurers who went to the graveyard said they witnessed strong undead like soul-warping wraiths. Could you walk into those jaws of death?”
Igvarge bit his lip and said nothing.
“I’ll ask you something else. We are told that there was only one other person in Sir Momon’s party, a woman. She is a caster and would therefore be powerless against skeletal dragons, with their absolute magic resistance. With that in mind could you, with a party of only two—well, three if you count the Wise King of the Forest—accomplish all that?” Rakheshir bowed his head slowly to Ainz. “As a resident of this city, Sir Momon, I thank you. If you hadn’t moved as swiftly as you did, who knows how many victims there would have been? This is only my personal thanks, but if you ever need anything, please let me know and I’ll do my utmost to support you.”
“There’s no need, Guild Master. I merely resolved the incident at the request of Mrs. Baleare.”
“Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo…,” Rakheshir laughed. It was an emotional one. “I really do believe you deserve the rank orichalcum—or even adamantite. To accomplish such a feat with such small numbers and then to remain humble about it—you say it as if it was all a piece of cake. Rumor has it your partner can use up to tier-three magic, but that can’t be true, right?”
“I thank you for the compliments…but I’d rather not reveal our hand.”
“Ah, how unfortunate.”
Ainz and Rakheshir smiled at each other, in response to which Igvarge’s face reddened as he raised his voice. “If we had all worked together, we could have taken care of it! In the first place, having a small team is their problem! They probably just have personality issues that make it hard for them to keep members!”
The air in the room was heating up when the stupid “pfe-hee” breathing noise cut in. “How about you leave it at that? We didn’t gather you here to fight.”
Igvarge, deflated, sat down with the “pfe-hee” that followed. His angry eyes were still pegged on Ainz. The guild masters shook their heads at him. Sheesh.
“You value strength, so I understand how you feel, but that’s not what we’re here to discuss. Let’s get this problem solved, chop-chop!”
“Thank you, Mayor.”
“Hmm? I don’t know what the issue is, but do continue. I’m eager to hear the details.”
“Yes, I should have reported to you sooner?”
“Don’t worry about it. I was a bit busy with some business concerning Stronoff.” He pfe-heed.
“Then let’s get down to—”
“Before that, wouldn’t it be the bare minimum of etiquette to remove one’s helmet?” Igvarge derailed the conversation again, and the bite in his voice made it irritating no matter how right he was, to the point where the other adventurers frowned slightly.
“No, I think this time he’s right. That is a bit lacking in courtesy.”
But Ainz himself coolly removed his helmet and revealed his fake magic face—a plain face that would never get cast in a leading role. “Since I come from a foreign country, I’d rather not invite trouble, so I keep my face hidden. Please forgive me; I meant no disrespect.”
“Tch, a foreigner?”
“That’s enough, Igvarge. Adventurers who protect people from monsters have no borders. To have to mention that unwritten rule out loud to a man in the same profession is embarrassing.” A reproving voice rose against Igvarge, who was about to continue, and upon realizing that everyone in the room shared the opinion, he reluctantly fell silent.
“…Simply due to being from a different country, I often attract many stares.”
Ainz’s clever words caused several present to smile wryly. Igvarge’s face was splotchy with anger, but no one complained when Ainz put his helmet back on.
“Now then, I pray we will have no further disruptions—I’d like to address our main topic.”
“Someone was late so we haven’t heard it yet.”
“That was my fault. I do hope you’ll forgive me.” Ainz bowed and gave a serious apology this time. Even he had memories of being an office worker and having to repress his desire to go home because the meeting couldn’t start until all members had arrived. He understood their feelings all too well.
His genuine apology must have seemed to have a lot of integrity compared to Igvarge with his pronounced hostility and repeatedly cynical remarks. Someone emitted an admiring “ahh,” and Igvarge frowned harder—because he realized how far everyone’s opinion of him had fallen.
But there was someone more upset than Igvarge. “…That really is enough! If you derail our conversation any further, I’ll have to ask you to leave.” It was, naturally, Ainzach speaking. His eyes openly blazed in fury, and his mild manner from before had faded into the shadows. On the other end of his glare was, of course, Igvarge.
Igvarge gave a slight bow in apology.
Seeing the sincerity in his eyes made Ainz wonder. Considering all the hostility he’s been aiming at me this whole time, it wouldn’t have been strange for him to now cop the attitude of a middle schooler rebelling against his parents. So why did he back down? After thinking for a bit, Ainz reached what he felt must have been the answer.
What kind of reputation would being the only one sent out of a gathering of mythril-plate adventurers bring about? People might think that he’d been deemed useless and turned away, even if it was untrue. Then his standing among adventurers would drop like a rock.
“First, in brief: Two nights ago, adventurers patrolling the highway in the environs of E-Rantel encountered a vampire. Five of them were killed. That vampire is why I gathered you here today.”
Hearing the description of the monster, Ainz’s hopes were dashed. The surviving adventurers were so terrified, they remembered the vampire’s clothing and hair only vaguely, but apparently the impression of “silver haired with a big mouth” had stuck.
It may have been vague, but for someone who knew Shalltear, it was easy to associate this description with her. Ainz was now certain of the vampire’s identity.
How did this happen? I really have no idea what’s going on. Well, I’ll have to adjust the survivors’ memories or there’ll be trouble. I’ll act when a chance opens up.
While Ainz was furrowing his illusionary brow, the conversation continued. “I see. But I’m not very well versed in such matters. I don’t want to make you take forever to explain it to me, either, though, so I’ll just listen to your discussion from the sideline and ask questions if I have them.”
“Understood. Well then, gentlemen, any questions?”
“Whereabouts in the environs?”
“About three hours walking from the city’s north gate. I believe you’re familiar with the forest out that way—it was in there.”
“What plates were they?”
“Iron.”
“…Can I ask something? Why did you gather so many adventurers about a vampire? Are we supposed to be bidding for the job?”
“My thoughts exactly. A platinum plate should be able to handle a vampire. I don’t understand why you’ve gathered so many mythril-rank adventurers here.”
“It’s simple. The vampire is strong,” Rakheshir chimed in and was bombarded with doubtful looks.
“A strong vampire…?”
“An elite vampire… You mean like the infamous vampire lord Nation Breaker who appeared in the sagas of the Thirteen Heroes?”
“It’s unclear if it’s that vampire lord or not, but it used the tier-three spell Animate Dead when those adventurers encountered it. I trust I don’t need to explain the significance of that to adventurers such as yourselves.”
There were no words. Their tense faces spoke volumes.
“Hmm. I don’t really get it. Can you tell me what you mean?”
“Yes, please excuse us, Mayor.”
“To estimate simply, you could think of someone who can use that level of magic as platinum rank.”
Panasolei, nearly grasping what they were saying, knit his brow.
“In other words… No, that’s enough of that.”
The look in Panasolei’s eyes turned sharp. That small change made a huge difference in the vibes he gave off. His expression had gone from a dull-witted pig to ferocious wild boar. No, this must have been Panasolei’s real face.
“In other words, what the head of the wizards’ guild is trying to say is that a monster with platinum-rank skills is equal to a team of platinum-rank adventurers.”
“Yes, it’s as you suggest.”
“Is it okay if I think of it as just more strong?”
“I think that’s fine.”
“In army terms, how strong would it be?”
“Against an army? That’s a tough question.” Rakheshir racked his brain and then began to speak again. “Allow me to first note that this is just a rough idea, and I can’t say for sure that it’s accurate. Thinking of an army, undead don’t get tired and don’t require food or drink, so… Yeah, if I had to take a stab at it, I’d guess about ten thousand men?”
“What?!” The reality shocked Panasolei, and it showed on his face; he scanned the adventurers to seek their opinions.
Apart from Ainz, everyone was nodding in agreement with the guild master’s opinion.
“Theo, I’ll take it from here.” Ainzach began to speak, taking the baton from Rakheshir. “A country’s ratio of adventurers who are platinum rank or above is thought to be about twenty percent. There are around three thousand adventurers in the kingdom, so in the entire kingdom of over eight million people, the number of platinum ranked adventurers or higher is only six hundred. Do you understand? That’s how few there are.”
“I see. I didn’t want to understand, but I do now. Then I want to ask you adventurers as follow-up: Are you confident you can subdue this monster? If it’s impossible…hmm. What about asking Stronoff for help?”
Gazef Stronoff—the kingdom’s strongest warrior. He was said to be more powerful than an adamantite-rank adventurer. It was probably right to call him the kingdom’s last resort.
But Ainzach promptly dismissed the idea of going to him. “It’s true there are no warriors who can defeat Sir Stronoff, but if he fought a team of adventurers, though they’d be inferior in strength, they would definitely still win. An adventurer team has a myriad of hands they can play; compared to Sir Stronoff, they’d have about four times the number of spells and martial arts to work with. This gap would, frankly, be quite large when facing a monster possessing special abilities.”
“Hrm…”
“The best plan would be to gather adamantite- or orichalcum-rank adventurers. And until we can do that, we could gather this city’s strongest adventurers to build a security net around the city to prevent incursions.”
“Isn’t that an overly defensive posture?”
“Assuming the worst scenario, that seems like the best plan. Our opponent is single-handedly equivalent to an army!”
“The terror of having a power equivalent to an army pop up in any random place… I don’t even want to imagine it.”
A ten thousand–strong army would be easier to find due to evidence of their march. Furthermore, because they’d need a vast amount of food to maintain themselves, a protracted campaign would be difficult for them. But how would it be as an individual? An individual adept at stealth and magic, including invisibility?
“But Guild Master, if I may give my perspective on your idea, as an adventurer, I don’t think it would be very easy to create a security net. Coordinating our movements would take time and training…”
“Even if we don’t go as far as that, what about coming up with a joint operation plan, gentlemen?”
The adventurers immediately opposed the mayor’s idea.
“Can’t be done. In order to coordinate ourselves, we’d need a minutely detailed plan, and the more detailed the plan gets, the easier it will fall apart in the event of something unexpected. If it came to that, I’d rather fight without cooperating. Why is that vampire around here in the first place? What have the guilds found out so far?”
“Due to the immense strength of the vampire, the guilds haven’t been able to closely investigate, either. Right as we were forming an investigation team, the vampire incident from last night occurred without warning, and we had to send them over there on short notice.”
“…I see, and you’re worried the two incidents might be related?”
“Indeed.”
“Momon resolved that graveyard incident, right? Is there anything about the ringleader’s body or belongings that suggests a connection?”
There was a slight silence after that question.
Hmm? thought Ainz. The guild master hadn’t had any trouble answering so far, but now he glanced at the mayor—questioningly. But when he thought about it, these were people who had been committing an act of terrorism on the city. There must have been information that was okay to share with adventurers along with information that was not.
“From the items left behind, we’ve determined it was Zurrernorn.”
The three adventurers’ faces became sober.
Meanwhile, Ainz was hearing the word for the first time and prayed—to a god he didn’t believe in—that nobody would address this unknown topic to him.
Ignorance is seriously scary. I have to hurry up on gathering intelligence.
“That secret society that uses undead? So there could be a connection to the vampire, huh?”
“Maybe they were aiming to split our forces by causing trouble both inside and outside the city at the same time? Or it could be that both of them were feints, and they’re currently working on their real objective… That would be the worst.”
“For now, we need reconnaissance. We know from the ranger that there were caves in the vicinity of where the vampire was identified. Rumor has it there is a bandit hideout there…”
“Would the vampire still even be there…? The chance it moved is higher, but I guess the chance is greater than zero… First, we should have people go to the—” The adventurer who was talking stopped short.
Of course he did. Investigating the place the vampire was last seen was the same as ordering people to leap into danger. And if they met the vampire, and it had the combat ability they’d estimated, it meant certain death. What he had just said was basically a roundabout way of saying, Get out there and die!
“Let’s…leave that for later. We should probably consider the city’s security first. At this very moment, the vampire might already be inside.”
“Yeah, it’d be easy to get in using magic… It’s not like the capital of the empire, where they have aerial cavalry and casters on patrol…”
Using Fly, it was possible to invade the city from above, and using Invisibility, one could walk straight in. That’s just how tricky magic was. The obvious first moves were to concentrate their military strength and fortify their guard.
“But if we can’t get info, it’ll be difficult to handle. First, we should investigate the caves!”
The room’s opinion began to gravitate toward that extremely natural suggestion.
To Ainz, that was worrisome. It would be extremely bad for Shalltear’s current form to be seen. It wasn’t clear where things would go, but having her current appearance known by the city—or possibly even throughout the kingdom—would be a burden on future behind-the-scenes maneuvers. He desperately racked his brain for some way to steer the conversation.
In the end, however, there was only one way for no one to find out what Shalltear looked like. Ainz swallowed the spit his mouth didn’t even produce and began to speak. “First, you’re mistaken about one thing: That vampire is not connected to Zurrernorn.”
“Why do you say that, Momon? Do you know something?”
“I know that vampire well—because I chased it all the way here.”
“What?!”
The atmosphere in the room was greatly shaken.
Ainz spun his mental gears at high speed. This was it.
“They are extremely powerful. Actually, the reason I became an adventurer was to gather more information about them.”
Ainzach bit on the info Ainz had purposely dropped. “Them? You said ‘them,’ right?”
“Yes, there are two vampires. One is a woman with platinum hair named—” He was suddenly at a loss for words. He’d been about to say Camilla, but it seemed too clichéd for a female vampire name. It seemed like it would give him away if any players were nearby. He wasn’t sure what to call her when a flash of inspiration struck, and he said, “—Honyopnyot.”
“Huh?” Someone didn’t get it. Not just one person, pretty much everyone.
“…Honyopnyoko.” Even Ainz had the feeling what he’d just said strayed from the original, but if anyone asked, he would make them believe his tongue had gotten twisted.
“…Honyopnyo…?”
“Honyopnyoko.”
He’d stuck -ko at the end of a feminine vampire’s name without thinking, but he didn’t think any Yggdrasil players would catch on to him just from that. Confident in his flawless denomination, he smiled proudly under his helmet.
“I-is that so? If you know this Hony—agh!—this woman vampire’s name, are you about ready to reveal your true identity to us? What country are you—?”
“Unfortunately, I can’t do that. This is a top-secret mission. If you were to find out my true identity, I’d be forced to take my leave of this place. I’d like it if you could deal with the vampire by yourselves, without involving my country. I don’t want this to cause a diplomatic incident. I’m sure you can understand, Mayor?”
The mayor nodded slowly, and Ainzach, watching, bit his lip while he stared at Ainz with keen eyes.
The gaze of the guild master didn’t bother him, but he wondered how far they’d believed his story. Were there any inconsistencies? Those two worries crowded his mind, but Ainz spoke again to clear them away. With a little bit of anger—I’m not going to let anyone get in my way here—he said, “My team will perform reconnaissance. If the vampire is there, we’ll destroy it.”
That’s what the dark warrior who had shown up late declared. His confidence in himself and determination could be keenly felt, even if his face was hidden.
The atmosphere was under some pressure, as if things had been shaken up, and someone gasped. Everyone felt almost as if it had been his own voice.
“Then what about the other—?”
“Unnecessary. I don’t need anyone slowing me down,” he interrupted, waving a hand that said they’d be in the way. He’d spat the cruel words in an arrogant tone.
That wasn’t how one should conduct oneself in a room of similarly ranked adventurers. But the men there, who had made it through many life-or-death battles, sensed that his remarks weren’t born of insolence, narcissism, or conceit, but rather realistic calculation. They also sensed he had the power to be able to say them.
This man was beyond the realm of normal humans.
It was as if the raven-black armor had expanded before their eyes. The oppressive atmosphere was palpable, and the room seemed to have gotten smaller. They sensed from this man that he was similar to people they had met and felt they could never catch up to, like an adamantite-plate adventurer.
He was a man who could be called a hero.
Ainzach clammed up and just breathed a few times. No, everyone there did the same thing. The atmosphere was heavy enough that the mayor was loosening his collar as he sweat.
Ainzach asked in a near whisper, “And for compensation?”
“We can discuss that later. But I’d like you to promise that if I take care of this, if I find and destroy this vampire, that you’ll make me at least orichalcum. That will make it easier for me to travel in search of the second one. It’s a pain to have to prove my strength over again each time.”
Everyone in the room thought that made sense.
It wasn’t as if adventurers served the city or country, but currently in this city, there was no one with the rank of orichalcum. If he became the strongest adventurer in town, his reputation would become known to everyone. Not only that, but due to the rarity of orichalcum adventurers, his name would travel far. He would also get requested by name for more dangerous jobs, and the chance that he would acquire information about this immensely powerful vampire was high.
But there was one man who couldn’t accept it emotionally, even if his rationality otherwise might have allowed him to do so.
A chair clattered, and when everyone looked, it was, perhaps as expected, the one who had been picking on Ainz since before, Igvarge. “I’m not convinced of your power. I-in the first place, we don’t even know if that vampire is strong or not! The magic to use a zombie could have come from an item. We’re going with you!” He’d been able to move despite being overawed because of his dislike of and hostility toward Ainz, as well as the conviction that he didn’t want to let him get away with this.
Perhaps feeling uncomfortable that a fellow adventurer would act like that, Bellote spoke up in a bristling tone.
“Igvarge, your attitude is—”
“Whatever, that’s fine.” Ainz granted him permission in an easygoing way; however, his action didn’t stem from friendship. The next words he spoke were exceedingly cold-blooded. “But if you come, you’ll definitely die, you know. I don’t know if the whole party will be wiped out or not, but…” He said it extremely matter-of-factly. He was making neither a threat nor a joke.
Igvarge shuddered at the tone that implied it was just the fate that awaited him. No, it wasn’t only Igvarge. Everyone in the room was chilled to the bone.
Ainz shrugged casually. “I warned you. If you want to come despite that, then come.”
“Y-you bet we will!” He was putting up a brave front, but he couldn’t back down here. There was no way he could back down. He couldn’t bring any more shame on himself in front of adventurers of his same rank and these city authorities.
As the sparks flew between Ainz and Igvarge, Ainzach had gotten ahold of himself and now asked, “It’s great that you’re confident, but do you have any basis for it? Of course, we understand how strong you are. But we need you to understand that considering the vampire’s strength, this job is no walk in the park. I’m not sure if we can really leave it all up to you. We’d need a plan for in case you were defeated, too, just in case…”
Ainz promptly replied, “I have a trump card.”
“And that is?”
In response to Ainzach’s interest, Ainz pulled a crystal out of his ****** pocket.
“…Is that—? No, it can’t be…” Rakheshir suddenly shouted and continued, gasping, “I read about them in a rare book… Magic items containing immensely powerful magic considered supreme treasures…and among them, magic-sealing crystals. Why do you have such a rare item?!”
“I tip my hat to you—you’re correct. And it contains a tier-eight spell.”
“What?! Whaaat?!” Rakheshir screamed. Even a strangled chicken wouldn’t have made such a strange noise. His expression was also frighteningly warped.
Rakheshir wasn’t the only one surprised. Everyone else’s faces—well, everyone’s except the mayor’s—were frozen in shock and awe. Anyone with a little adventuring experience would understand what Ainz had said, as well as the value of that item.
“Tier eight…? Isn’t that just made up?”
“…It might be a fairy tale, but I wonder. A realm of magic that high—it’s truly mythic.”
“Nonsense! It…it has to be a lie!”
The three adventurers, Igvarge included, stared at the crystal resting on the raven-black gauntlet, awe on their faces.
“Sorry, but let me borrow it for a moment!”
“Why?”
“I’m just interested in it—as a caster. I swear I won’t do anything! If you want some type of guarantee, I’ll turn over everything I have on me right now. Like this belt—”
Ainz looked at Rakheshir with mild disgust. The man had stop talking mid-sentence and was fiddling with his belt impatiently to take it off. “Okay, you don’t need to take it that far. Here, go ahead.”
“Ah, can I touch it, too?”
“Me, too!”
The sealing crystal was passed from hand to hand the long way to Rakheshir. When he finally got to touch it, he just stared, entranced—like a woman who’d received the precious stone she’d coveted or a young boy obtaining something he’d been hoping for.
“Marvelous… By the way, Sir Momon. Do you mind if I cast magic on it?” After receiving permission, heart throbbing, he cast some spells. “Appraise Magic Item! Detect Enchantment!” And then his face slowly warped—“Amaaaazing!”
The aura of a capable adult he’d carried was gone. His eyes were filled with pure, innocent surprise, his tone of voice changed, and it was as if his childhood self had returned. “It’s true! There is tier-eight magic sealed within this crystal! That’s all I can tell with the spells I know, but…wow! This is amazing!” He screamed over and over as if he’d lost his mind, stunning everyone. Then he began holding it aloft, licking it, rubbing it against his cheeks—exactly the type of things an insane person would do.
“C-calm down! What are you doing?” Startled by this display of craziness he’d never seen from his friend before, Ainzach stood up and approached Rakheshir.
Everyone was looking on with something between shock and disgust in their eyes. This was horrible behavior for a man who held an important position in the city.
“Don’t be ridiculous! Who could be calm in this situation? This is amazing! There is actually tier-eight magic sealed in here! I don’t know what spell, but still!” His excitement unabated, Rakheshir stared at the crystal with twinkling eyes. Then his gaze regained a touch of reason, and he asked Ainz, “Sir Momon?! Where did you discover this item? You must tell me!”
“I found it in some ruins. With a bunch of other items. Of course, the magic was already sealed inside. I had a certain great caster analyze it for me.”
“I—I see. And where were these ruins located?”
“A very faraway place…is all I can say.”
At the expected reply, Rakheshir bit his lip at what a shame it was.
“Now then, are you about ready to give it back?”
“Oh…yes…” Rakheshir glanced around and then reluctantly handed the crystal back to Ainz. Then, watching Ainz, who had begun wiping down the crystal with a sheet of vellum, out of the corner of his eye, he stated emphatically, “By the way, I’m…against you going out to exterminate the vampire, Sir Momon!”
An exhausted silence filled the air and Ainzach put a palm over his face.
Pained, Ainzach nonetheless asked, “Why, all of a sudden? I know even without asking, but tell me anyways…”
“Well, it’d just…be such a huge waste…”
Ainzach decided that his friend had gone completely insane and ignored his opinion. “Well then, we’ll be disregarding Rakheshir’s views on the matter…”
“Wait! Tier-eight magic is truly the divine realm! You mean to say you’d be fine using something so precious on a vampire?!”
Flames wavered in Ainzach’s eyes. He couldn’t allow any further outbursts. It wasn’t the way someone in a superior position should act. Quelling his anger, he spoke to Rakheshir in a low voice. “…Sorry, Rakheshir, but please leave it at that.”
Those powerfully emotional words were enough to bring even Rakheshir back to reason, and he was at a loss for words. The faint redness of his face must have meant he was embarrassed by his behavior.
After confirming out of the corner of his eye that common sense had returned to his friend, Ainzach made the request in as mild a way as possible. “…Well then, Momon, we’re counting on you.”
As he bowed, Ainz nodded confidently. “…Understood.” Then he turned the slit in his helmet to Igvarge. “We’re leaving as soon as possible—vampires receive a movement-impeding penalty in daylight.”
“‘Penalty’? Well, it is their weakness, and they do move more slowly. We can be ready right away.”
“You don’t need to discuss it with your teammates?”
“It’s no problem. Everyone will be on board right away.”
“…I see. Then I’ll meet you at E-Rantel’s main gate in an hour.”
“One hour? Isn’t that a little too hasty? We have plenty of time before the sun sets.”
“I’m in a hurry. If you need time to steel your resolve, I’m leaving you behind. Got a problem with that?”
“No. We’ll make preparations immediately.” Igvarge stood after acquiescing to the terms in an openly irritated voice.
Ainz watched him go with a coolheaded gaze and then turned to those who remained in the room. “Then I’ll be off. Everyone else, I’d like you to take good care of E-Rantel. I want to avoid the scenario where we miss the vampire out there but come back to a…troublesome situation.”
“Yes, I can’t quite say, ‘Leave it to us!’ but we’ll do our very best. And if you find yourself in trouble, please retreat.”
Ainz nodded and left the room.
Eventually there were three people remaining—Panasolei, Ainzach, and Rakheshir, evidence of the reluctant parting still in his eyes.
“I apologize for showing everyone such an ugly spectacle.”
“Well, eh, don’t worry about it,” Panasolei replied to Rakheshir’s apology with a wry smile. But surely his opinion of the man must have changed dramatically.
Rakheshir himself found it shameful, but the excitement still hadn’t completely left him. When he’d met Lizzy, the apothecary, she’d talked animatedly about that potion. Is it really something to get that worked up about? he had thought, but now he was full of the urge to sneer at his former self who’d looked at her so coldly. He’d learned it was difficult to suppress the astonishment and emotion that came from having something that should have been unattainable appear before one’s own eyes.
“What was that item, anyway?”
Rakheshir hesitated for a moment. He had to hold back his heart from boyishly leaping like it had done earlier. “That item has the potential to change everything we know about magic in a huge way. Magic over tier six was actually considered only a rumor, theoretical. But now I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”
Tiered magic, as the whole of magic was also known, was said to have been brought to this world six—or possibly five—hundred years ago. At the time, many caster heroes were born, but apart from the Thirteen Heroes, those capable of employing tier-seven spells and higher were only rumors.
In the sagas, there was a hero who used spells that made one want to declare, That couldn’t have been only a tier seven spell! but after all, there was no proof, so it was common to consider it just a story. And then, it was still unknown whether the Thirteen Heroes really used tier-seven magic or not.
But— Rakheshir believed that maybe the sagas weren’t just made-up stories, and he made a mental note to look up some things when he had time in the coming days: the goblin king who destroyed numerous dragons wielding an ash branch, the winged hero who raced across the sky, the evil warrior who rode a triple-headed dragon, the princess who ruled the crystal castle with her twelve loyal knights.
“So how far do you believe his story?” It went without saying that the man Panasolei referred to was Ainz.
When the surviving adventurer threw the potion she had received from a companion in magnificent raven-black armor at the vampire, it ran away—this was the testimony they had from her.
So he’d called the best potion maker in town, Lizzy, to ask her about the effects of this potion. From her reply, he gathered it was as rare an item as the magic-sealing crystal from earlier.
Possessing a single rare item colored one as suspect, but having two made them “just that kind of person.” The issue was why the vampire stopped attacking.
There were two possibilities. One was that Momon and the vampire were enemies. The other was that they were allies and their interests were aligned. So was Momon, the adventurer who appeared out of nowhere, really enemies with the vampire?
“What are the chances he’s in cahoots with the vampire?”
That’s what they were worried about. The three of them recalled Momon and their earlier conversation.
“Low, I think. What about you, Rakheshir?”
“I’m of the same opinion. If he wanted to shelter her and make it appear as though he’d killed her, there would be easier ways.”
If Momon was in cahoots with the vampire, there was no reason for him to go so far as all this.
“What if he was after the orichalcum plate?”
“I don’t think so, Mayor. Certainly adventurers get fame and recognition, but they are far from having authority. What are the pros of becoming an adventurer of that rank, Ainzach?”
“…You can get jobs with better compensation. Your fame increases. Depending on the circumstances, you might be appointed to a good position, but…that’s about it. If a person wanted to infiltrate the system, there are faster ways.”
The image of adventurers as monster extermination experts was strong. Maybe it was possible to become the head of an adventurers’ guild one day, but that wasn’t a position that enabled influence over kingdom matters. “If it’s money he’s after, I’m sure selling that crystal would allow him to live out the rest of his days in leisure. For someone as strong as him, getting more famous should be no problem. Actually, some of the guards involved in the graveyard incident were calling him a legendary hero.”
Panasolei nodded. Slaying an undead tall enough to reach the heavens in one blow and then breaking through a mob of undead so dense and numerous it was impossible to see the ground—he was truly a great hero.
That’s what the guards who had glimpsed Momon thought of him. Some even said they felt that as long as they had him, they weren’t scared of any monster.
“That said, it’s too bad, but there isn’t really any evidence we can trust him completely, is there? Still, Momon’s story was consistent, and if he was an enemy, I don’t know why he would have shown us that sealing crystal. We can probably trust him, right?”
The others responded to Rakheshir with bitter expressions. The fact that it was hard to trust him after seeing his craziness earlier was written all over their faces.
“Mayor, Ainzach. The reason you can’t fully trust Sir Momon is his sudden arrival coincident with the appearance of the vampire, correct? But personally, I think Sir Momon’s story accounts for that.”
The other two nodded their agreement with a “That’s true.”
“And about how the vampire stopped attacking when she saw that rare potion, that would make sense if she’d been chased there by a guy who had one. And the reason she left the woman adventurer alive could have been to let him know she was there.”
“I see… She’d make Momon think she was in the area to pin him here. So she let the woman with the potion go because she seemed connected to Momon? So that all that info would get to him as soon as possible? That doesn’t contradict anything we know…”
“When you think that Momon essentially drove that vampire over here, it’s hard to feel genuinely happy that he came…”
“I know what you mean, Mayor. Still, we may not know what country he’s from or what kind of person he is, but until he defeats the vampire we should probably just continue treating him well and keep our guard up. Personally, I don’t think we have much reason to doubt him… Phew. I’d really like to talk with Sir Momon about that item. That armor seems quite excellent as well…”
“Speaking of Momon, Mayor, what about the Zurrernorn corpses?”
“They’ve gone missing,” the mayor answered with a sour look.
The Zurrernorn members, who had died a horrible death when Ainz defeated them, had been laid out in the guardhouse’s mortuary, but by the time the sun was up, there was no trace of them. The guards supposed that someone must have broken in and stolen the remains, but none of the guards who had been on duty were harmed, and none of them saw anybody.
The mortuary was wary of teleportation magic and the like, so it was built to obstruct their use in or out of the building—a type of locked-down room. For that reason, it wasn’t clear how anyone could have gotten in, and all they could think was that the bodies seemed to have disappeared like smoke.
A search of the city was secretly taking place but had uncovered no information that might lead to the discovery of the missing Zurrernorn remains, and the chance that they would seemed slim. In other words, they’d lost any clues they might have gained from the corpses.
“This guy was performing an undead ritual. Is it possible he turned undead and ran away?”
“…I can’t say no for sure.”
“Well, this is a problem. We can’t prove anything yet. I guess our only chance now is the shrine beneath that mausoleum? It’d be great if there was some evidence there…”
“By the way, I don’t think Momon has been in there, but if we find any valuable items with unspecified owners, is it okay if we give them to him?”
“If it’s something that doesn’t have to do with their ritual, please give them to him in line with the adventurers’ code.”
4
Ainz flew down the highway. A lukewarm wind penetrated the slit in his helmet and hit him where his eyes would have been. Someone with eyeballs would have been blinking repeatedly, but Ainz, who had none, only thought, Seems windy.
As he looked down, the ground shot past like an arrow to his rear. Was it because he was close to the ground or some other reason? He felt like he was going faster than he was, though it wasn’t as if the sensation inspired fear. He did tense his legs every time his body bounced into the air, though.
Hamusuke kept her balance well, but besides her enormous size, she was still shaped exactly like a Djungarian hamster. It was partly because the only way to ride was with his legs spread wide, but even someone with a superior sense of balance like Ainz had to pay a lot of attention in order not to fall from that perch with no saddle or stirrups.
It’d be hard to swing a sword while I’m on Hamusuke. Maybe I should get a saddle and stirrups made soon. I could have the blacksmith do it after he finishes the dummy armor I might use. Ainz’s unstable riding posture was one primary motivator of this line of thought, but another was the silhouette of the rider running parallel to him.
Right next to him was Narberal, riding a horse. It was a large horse in heavy metal barding, summoned with an item called Animal Statue: Warhorse. She managed it admirably and looked so cool running down the highway. Her ponytail fluttering, brown robe blown back by the oncoming wind—it was like a scene straight out of a movie.
Feeling depressed about the gap between that and his riding this gigantic hamster, he looked farther over and saw the men. They were a team of four adventurers, and they had better gear than the Swords of Darkness, whom Ainz had traveled with before. Driving those thoughts into a corner of his mind, freeing himself from those memories, he gazed absentmindedly at the horses the men were riding.
What magnificent animals.
Ainz didn’t know much about horses, but with their beautiful coats of hair and impressive physiques, they must have been fine specimens.
Their isosceles triangle riding formation also seemed like a movie scene. I look like an idiot riding Hamusuke. So lame… He began to succumb to gloomy feelings, but it seemed like he was the only one who felt that way.
“That’s one amazing magical beast you’re riding there!” One of Igvarge’s teammates called out to him, riding parallel. Unlike Igvarge’s, his tone contained no hostility. Perhaps stimulated by the curiosity of an adventurer, he was brimming with interest and admiration. “What’s it called? It must be pretty famous, right?”
“…It’s the Wise King of the Forest.”
“Huh? What?! The legendary magical beast?!” the man shouted, eyes nearly popping out of his head in surprise.
I’ll never get used to that reaction. Is Hamusuke…? Hmm? Out of the corner of his eye, Ainz noticed Hamusuke’s whiskers twitching proudly. Her ears moved in the same way, and it was clear from how her back bounced sharply that she was paying more attention to their conversation than to a smooth ride. He brought his gauntleted hand down on her head—clink—as a soft voice reached his ears.
“Man, according to Igvarge… I see, he must have gotten jealous again…”
“How did he describe me? Ahh, no, you don’t have to tell me. I have a good enough idea from the look on your face.”
“Ha-ha-ha, sorry. He’s not a bad guy, per se. Just lets his ambition get the better of him sometimes.”
“…With a guy like that as a teammate, I’m surprised you’re all still around. Or have there been new members swapped in?”
“Nope, since forming our team not a single member has died—because we all have different personalities and abilities. He’s a very accomplished adventurer, you know!”
“Accomplished, you say?” Ainz turned to face Igvarge and was shot a penetrating, hostile glare. “Good on him,” he said with a derisive snort and raised a hand in an order to Narberal to curb her continual violent dislike of the man. He didn’t want to start a fight here. He had more important things to do.
After that was done, Hamusuke looked up at him. “Master, my head hurts, that it does.” Her black eyes sparkled, brimming with tears.
He felt a bit guilty for hitting her a little too hard, but he didn’t want to get thrown off going at this speed.
Even if he slammed into the ground, Ainz wouldn’t take any damage. In an experiment using a minion with the same damage reduction ability he had, it hadn’t felt pain even being dropped from over three thousand feet in the air.
The problem would be if their traveling companions found his toughness strange. The unembellished truth was that they had come this far on friendly terms, so Ainz was hoping to continue in that way.
“Don’t bump me around so much. I don’t want to have to hold on so tight with my insane strength.”
“Understood, that it is. My master is worried for me, is he?” Hamusuke’s eyes shone with emotion.
When Ainz ordered her to “face forward and run,” Igvarge’s friend was impressed. “It’s amazing you can keep your balance in a posture like that! Even if you’re good at it, seems kind of dangerous!”
“I guess because I’m used to it? That said, I am considering adding a saddle sometime soon.”
“A saddle, you say? I would hate that… Of course, I’m only joking, that I am! If they do be my master’s words, I, Hamusuke, will obey with all my might, that I will!” Bathed in the gleam of Narberal’s stare, Hamusuke emphasized her position as a loyal retainer. Ainz felt a different tremble than that of running travel ripple through her hips.
He frowned under his helmet. I don’t think it’s necessary to hit Hamusuke with a death glare. I’m happy to have Narberal’s devotion, but she goes too far. Furthermore, it’s fine to look down on humans, but there’s a time and a place… She doesn’t really understand that. I wonder if it’s just how her settings are. If that’s the case, then I guess there’s nothing I can do, but still…
Just by walking around with Hamusuke, the fame of the adventurer Momon grew. But the impression made on other people could be either that the Wise King of the Forest was proclaiming loyalty of her own free will or that she was captured and afraid—very different. The ones who saw it in the former light probably thought of Momon in a good way as a great adventurer. Even though he was the one in charge either way, he wanted to angle things so that his fame increased more. He wanted to be called a hero, not a tyrant.
Plus, it seemed like it would come in handy in the future to have someone from outside Nazarick swearing loyalty to him.
Ainz deemed his treatment of Hamusuke too rough and gently stroked the spot he’d chopped earlier, like he was petting a small animal.
“Master, you’ll make me blush, that you will…”
The squeak of grinding teeth reached his ears over the sound of the horses galloping. It’s half your fault, Narberal! Why do you take everything so seriously? …I know she’s jealous, so I should probably do something…as a reward for all her loyalty. But what should I give her?
As Ainz was fretting about whether to give her a ring or treasure, Igvarge called out to him without an ounce of kindness in his voice. “Hey, Momon. We’re here.”
After Ainz responded that he understood, Hamusuke slowly started dropping her speed. The best thing about riding Hamusuke was that, unlike a horse, they had a simple mutual understanding. With no equestrian experience, Ainz wasn’t sure he could have managed a horse. I was embarrassed about riding Hamusuke, but I should probably be thankful I got through this without having to ride a horse. That said, it’s possible that sometime in the future I’ll have to be on horseback for whatever reason. Maybe I should practice a little bit just in case…
Ainz leaped off Hamusuke and pet her as a thank-you while Narberal turned her horse back into a statue and the men left their horses to graze.
“Okay, should we go in? What’s our formation?”
“We’ll go out in front. All you need to do is follow behind us.”
“I don’t care what happens to you, but you’d better remember we’re here and act with caution.”
Upon receiving Igvarge’s obnoxious reply, Ainz walked into the forest, followed by Narberal and Hamusuke.
The forest near Carne was the same way, but a forest untouched by human hands is a very difficult place to walk. Ainz, however, was enveloped in numerous magic items, so he could walk the same as on level ground. On top of that, his worry for Shalltear naturally caused his feet to move faster, so now and then, Igvarge had to tell him to slow down.
He was right in doing so, but his language was rude and outright hostile, and Narberal nearly exploded in rage several times. Ainz forcefully held her back. “Just a little farther. Be good.”
As Ainz was chuckling under his helmet at the dubious look on Narberal’s face, he noticed Hamusuke was moving in a strange way. Her ears were flapping as if trying to hear something. Ainz had some idea what she was reacting to, and he leaned in to her ear.
“Stop it.”
“Hmm? Master, what is it you are talking abo—?”
“If what you’re listening to is a metallic sound, it’s under control. Don’t worry about it.”
“Is that so, hmm? Do excuse me, master, that I ask.”
“By the way, is there anyone else tailing us?”
He’d ordered Nigredo to do surveillance again and had taken numerous other measures, but just in case…
“There doesn’t seem to be anyone else, no, there doesn’t.”
“Hey there, is something wrong?” asked the man who had been riding parallel to Ainz when they were mounted. It was obvious why it wasn’t their team’s representative, Igvarge.
Ainz responded with a slight wave and said it was nothing.
“You sure?” He didn’t seem satisfied with that answer, but when Ainz didn’t look like he was going to say anything more, he shrugged and fell silent.
Mm, I don’t have any grudge against you guys, but… Ainz breathed inaudibly and then silently advanced into the forest.
After they’d gone a ways in, there came the sound of weapons being rapidly drawn behind him. He stopped and leisurely turned around. “What’s up?”
“Not ‘What’s up?’! If you’re gonna walk in front, at least be on your guard!” This time, Igvarge’s men expressed agreement with his hostile tone. “Hey! You, there! Show yourself, but no quick movements!” Igvarge shouted in the direction of a tree that was big enough a human could hide behind it.
In that savage atmosphere, Ainz strolled calmly over to the tree. Some panicked voices called out behind him, but he ignored them.
Narberal and Hamusuke both followed him, Narberal with an expression that showed she expected this, and Hamusuke with a bit of hesitation.
As they approached, a figure wrapped in armor the same color as Ainz’s responded to the order and stepped out of the shadows. In its hands it gripped a bardiche giving off a faint, sickly glow.
With the appearance of this intimidating warrior, a peculiar atmosphere dominated the scene. Well, saying it dominated part of the scene would probably be more accurate.
Ainz raised a hand and spoke. “Good work.”
“Thank you, Lord Ainz.” The person—Albedo—took a humble posture.
“So is Shal—?”
“Who the hell is that?! Your teammate?! ‘Lord Ainz’?!” Questions were being fired off one after another behind him.
To Igvarge and his men, this was a natural reaction, but to Albedo, still in her humble posture, it was behavior that warranted death. The flames of her anger crackled with a severity that signaled they were about ready to burn down the whole area.
Hamusuke shivered, and all her hairs stood on end, as stiff as they possibly could be.
Those in the third party reacted the same way. All color drained from the faces of the men who were the targets of those angry flames, and their foreheads broke out in a cold sweat as they sensed death approaching.
“I’ll introduce her to you. This is my companion Albedo.”
“Lord Ainz, for you to call one in my humble position a companion is… I am your loyal retainer.”
“Right. I take back what I said. She’s my retainer. Does that answer your questions? Okay, Albedo. Start the next phase, as we discussed when I contacted you.”
While the men were rolling their eyes in shock, Albedo stood up and moved toward them.
“Oh, oh, there was one I forgot to answer. My real name isn’t Momon, but Ainz—not that there’s any need for you to know that.”
Albedo snickered adorably at the men with their perplexity plain on their faces, but the laugh was ice-cold.
“Now, then… Albedo, dispose of them. Capture one… No, in case we need a spare, let’s get two. I already cast Jamming, so you don’t have to worry about them communicating with anyone via magic.” While Igvarge and the others were shocked at his low voice betraying no emotion, he gave further orders. “Take the bodies to Nazarick. With specimens this strong, we can experiment to see if they can be a medium for creating upper-tier undead.”
“Understood.” Albedo swung her bardiche lightly through the air.
There was no murderous intent in the action, no enmity. Obviously there wasn’t. Being told to sever the heads of lower life-form humans was no different to Albedo from being told to cut the tops off some daikon radishes. If Ainz hadn’t been there, she probably wouldn’t have even swung through the air once to confirm that her movements were all right.
Although Igvarge and the others didn’t understand what was going on, they sensed the danger they were in and got into attack stances.
Ainz shrugged in response to their shocked stares.
“Sorry, I misspoke back at the guild. It should have been not ‘If you come, you’ll die,’ but ‘If you come, I’ll kill you.’”
He sentenced them to death.
“I warned you, but you didn’t listen. This is the result of your choice. Just accept it.”
Igvarge and his team moved to retreat.
The reason they chose to flee instead of trying to gesture and communicate was because they were acutely aware of the gap in fighting power that existed between them. They even chose to scatter instead of move as one, because it gave them a higher chance for survival.
Seemingly caught off guard by that, Albedo flew into action a moment later. Even though her physical strength was far superior to Ainz’s, cutting down opponents who had scattered in a forest was a bit of a hassle.
She caught up to her first choice in an instant and used a skill to trap and stun him.
Albedo’s keen sense of hearing picked up metallic sounds mingling with the sound of the human crumpling to the ground. But even as the sounds faded away, she couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from because the trees obstructed her vision. That and the only sound that adventurers wearing no metal armor made was the parting of vegetation underfoot. Albedo was frustrated by her lack of classes like thief or ranger.
She shook her head thinking, Good grief, and gave orders. “Mare, take care of two of them. Oh, right. I’ll dispose of the man who was rude to Lord Ainz.”
5
Igvarge ran.
He’d known Momon was a greater adventurer than himself since back at the guild—he’d just frantically denied it. But when he saw the imposing figure of the magical beast he was riding—the Wise King of the Forest, a legend passed down since long ago—he had to acknowledge the fact whether he liked it or not. To bend such a beast to his will, he had to be more powerful than a mythril plate.
When Igvarge learned that everything said in that room hadn’t been a bluff, he swelled with anger. I dunno what country’s celeb you are, but don’t bother us. If you want information, I’ll give it to you, so just sit quietly over there.
He saw it as Momon trespassing on his territory. He couldn’t think of anything except how awful it felt to have a dream—to repeat the cycle of hellish training, risking their lives adventuring, gradually crawling up the ladder—only to have someone show up and skip a bunch of rungs.
Given the opportunity, he wanted to take down Ainz. He would spread bad rumors to lower his reputation. In fact, that was his purpose for coming along on this trip. That was why, when Momon’s friend in black armor appeared and Momon declared he was going to kill them, he’d been able to choose to retreat without a moment’s hesitation. Despite the fear, he’d been able to move more swiftly than anyone, driven by the insidious urge to deliver unfavorable information about Momon—no, Ainz—to the guild. That’s what you get! You bet I’m gonna live! And I’m gonna tell everyone what you did, you bastard! He didn’t know yet whether Ainz was in cahoots with the vampire or not. But he could still spin the story that way.
Despite the chance that that horrible weapon could be swung behind him at any second, despite being scared for his life, he couldn’t hold back the emotions erupting deep from within—and smirked.
He wasn’t concerned for his teammates’ safety. No, all the better if they bought him time to escape alive. I’ll be the best. I’ll get orichalcum and then adamantite plates and be called a hero. He didn’t need any tough guys except himself. Friends were just stepping-stones for him to reach the top. He would become a hero equal to one of the Thirteen Heroes who saved the world. That was Igvarge’s dream, the one he’d had since he was a kid listening to the poet who’d come to his village to recite the heroic sagas.
Now this guy was messing it up, threatening to surpass him and his team. And it was even more unforgivable because the guy was just doing it in his spare time.
He ran, and ran, and ran.
The fact that he could flee through the forest without running out of breath was a sign that he was a mythril-rank adventurer. However—
Igvarge felt a ripple go through his mind—a fairly big one. Where am I? I took a detour because they might have ambushed me near the place where we left the horses, so… Huh? According to his senses, he was on course. His sense of direction told him so. But his sixth sense said differently. Even in a forest he’d come to for the first time, he shouldn’t have been lost, but for some reason, he didn’t know where he was.
Maybe I’m just imagining things.
That’s what he decided. But he didn’t really feel like he was imagining things. He might not have liked it, but he had to admit it.
“…Lost? Me? A forest stalker? How stupid…”
Igvarge had acquired classes specialized for operating in the outdoors. In a way, the forest was like his backyard. But in this place, he was seized by the strange feeling he’d stepped into a predator’s mouth.
“It’s like a maze…” Anxiety and impatience welled up inside him from the sudden change in what should have been familiar forest.
That’s when it happened.
He heard a quiet rustling.
Recalling the executioner in black, he whipped around to face the direction the noise had come from and saw a child peering at him from behind a tree.
It was a dark elf, a relative of the elves. They were humanoids who lived deep in the forest. What’s it doing here? The large dark-elf settlement was supposedly farther to the south in the unexplored area, deep in the woodlands. Dark elves usually settled far from human civilization. That was one big difference between them and elves, who traded with humans. It was very strange for a dark elf, and a child at that, to be all the way out here.
As Igvarge was wondering about that in his head, the dark elf nervously showed itself. A girl? The clothing was a girl’s; the fear on her extremely well-shaped face triggered his sadistic streak. The idea that she was with Momon did cross his mind, but her attitude was so different from the others’ that he dismissed the idea with a laugh. There’s no way.
More importantly, if she was a dark elf who lived in this forest, she might know a safe route out. If nothing else, if the black-armor person showed up, he could use her to distract them. Having calculated that, he stepped forward, intending to threaten her into doing what he wanted.
“Hey.”
The dark elf jumped at his voice, which he’d made deep and menacing on purpose.
“Um, s-sorry…”
Igvarge grinned at the timid figure. Things seemed like they would proceed smoothly. “You don’t have to apologize. I just want to ask you something. C’mere.”
“Ah…uh, um…er…er, sorry.”
Igvarge couldn’t understand why the dark-elf girl was apologizing, but before the question mark could appear over his head, she waved a staff that looked like it was made of ebony.
Plants became chains and restrained him.
His whole body shuddered in shock.
I’m a mythril-rank adventurer and I can’t resist this brat’s spell?
He put all his strength into escaping the bonds, but he couldn’t budge. His chest tight with panic, he barked a bluff with all his might. “You little bitch! If you don’t cancel that this instant I’m gonna kill you! Argh!”
With her timid eyes lowered, the dark elf walked in front of him.
That was when Igvarge noticed the splendid outfit she was wearing. Her clothing and armor were too extravagant. Each piece was more magnificent than anything he’d ever laid his hands on. And her eyes—he remembered something he heard once from an elf he knew.
But before the thought was fully formed, a shadow hung over him.
The girl was holding the staff up high. She still looked scared, but there was no emotion in her eyes. She didn’t feel anything about what she was about to do to him. It was like her fear was all an act someone had told her to put on.
The image of the black-armored figure overlapped with this girl in his mind. “W-wait a minute! What do you think you’re d—?”
Albedo arrived at the exact moment Mare’s staff came down on the man’s head. The helmet crushed, then the man’s skull underneath it dented, forcing his eyeballs to squirt out. His head was completely demolished—like a watermelon being split on the beach during summer.
“Nice work.”
“Oh! Uh, Albedo. I’m a-all done. I-is this good enough?”
Albedo, who’d removed her helmet, smiled down at Mare, who was trembling a bit as he looked up at her. “It’s perfect. That was maybe a bit of a messy way to kill someone, but it got the job done. Lord Ainz will praise you, too!”
“R-really? Eh-heh-heh-heh…”
Looking from the happily smiling dark elf to the corpse, Albedo asked, “What did you do with the other one?”
“Oh, uh, um… I already killed him. Er, the…the body is behind that tree…”
“Okay, perfect. Then, Mare, can you take those bodies back to Nazarick for me?”
“U-u-understood.”
Albedo smiled again at the boy holding his bloody staff and nodding. He was such a good, honest kid—if only he could be a little more proud of himself.
6
“Lord Ainz, we’re finished.”
Albedo returned carrying her helmet under her arm, and Ainz nodded emphatically at that first thing she said.
“Good work.” Now no one would see Shalltear.
He made his armor vanish and, enjoying the resulting sense of freedom, asked her, “And the plan for collecting the bodies?”
“I already gave the order to Mare, and he’s carrying them back for us.”
“Oh, then that solves that. Too bad they got killed by the vampire, but we survivors have to forge on.”
“Understood. And then…what will you do about that…thing clutching the hem of your cape?”
When Ainz looked, he found that Hamusuke was unobtrusively holding on—although he couldn’t understand how that worked when she was so huge. Her eyes were clearly teary, and her hairs were standing on end in fear. Of course, she was looking at Albedo.
“This is basically like my pet. I named her Hamusuke.”
“What! You gave this thing the position anyone in Nazarick would yearn for?!”
“…Huh?…Hamusuke, this is my loyal retainer and the manager of my castle, the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Albedo—your superior. Greet her.”
“As my master introduced me, I am Hamusuke, that I am. I look forward to working with you, that I do, Mistress Albedo.”
“…Nice to meet you, Hamusuke.”
“Okay, that’s it for formalities. From here on out, it’ll be Albedo and me. Narberal, take Hamusuke and return to Nazarick with Mare. Hamusuke, be a little careful with that thing in your mouth.”
“Yes, sir!” Narberal replied briskly.
Then Hamusuke, mumbling with the intelligent item rolling around in her mouth, said, “U-understood, master, that it is. But this thing, it’s a little noisy, that it is! But there’s something more important… You, in my mouth! Quiet down in there, that you do! I have a question, Mistress Narberal, and it is… will I be okay, hmm? I won’t get eaten, hmm?”
“If you’re Lord Ainz’s pet, no one will eat you without his permission. I’ll let everyone know, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
Ainz’s face didn’t move, but he smiled. It appeared the two of them had grown closer due to his leaving them alone in E-Rantel.
“Okay. Then let’s go, Albedo.”
“Yes, sir.”
Narberal and Hamusuke saw Ainz off as he headed toward Shalltear’s location with Albedo.
“By the way, Lord Ainz. I remembered what we were saying about those men’s corpses in the Throne Room, but it made me wonder if it was okay that we didn’t collect the bodies of the people you killed last night.”
“That…” He was going to repeat what he’d said the previous night—We needed to turn them in as ringleaders of the disturbance—but swallowed his words when Albedo continued.
“During their fight with you, they might have gleaned some information. Isn’t it dangerous not to collect the bodies, considering there exists magic to raise the dead? Did you have a special reason for leaving them?”
He stopped breathing. Well, no, he’d never been breathing.
Albedo had hit that nail on the head.
…This is bad.
In this world, there was magic that could bring the dead back to life. In other words, it was possible to get clearer and more detailed information out of them than an autopsy would provide.
Ainz recalled that night. His true identity, Nazarick’s name, Narberal’s abilities—that man and woman knew all of it. The woman in particular was especially dangerous.
This was a failure too serious to sweep under the rug with an “oops.” It was fatal.
Hopefully there wasn’t anyone around who could use resurrection magic, but according to the information they’d gotten out of the Sunlit Scripture, there were a few in the Slane Theocracy. There was also a high probability adamantite adventurers were capable of employing it. It was also possible that the country’s leadership secretly had someone on hand for the job.
So, if the higher-ups in E-Rantel decided these people had crucial information, they would be making preparations to use resurrection magic. If what those people had been trying to do could have put E-Rantel in a precarious situation, the city officials would surely try to get information out of them.
Ainz’s heart, which shouldn’t have even existed, was beating so hard he practically felt he could hear it. What should I do? That was obvious. They needed to seize the corpses now. But who would he send?
At the time, he’d ordered Narberal to leave the bodies there. Was exposing that as a mistake the right choice? No, I should avoid that…
He wanted to avoid saying anything that could further reduce loyalty while it was still unclear why Shalltear had rebelled. He thought it best not to rush into giving orders.
Ainz had the feeling he knew why the managers at work never wanted to admit their mistakes, and he gave his conclusion practically praying. “…It’s as you say, but I had a special reason for leaving them. Don’t worry. I have everything under control…besides Shalltear.”
“Oh! I would expect nothing less, Lord Ainz. So you’d already considered the matter I was thinking of, huh? Please excuse me…for my insolence. By the way, why don’t you ever use resurrection magic, Lord Ainz? I was thinking you would use it on all the dead humans to gather intelligence…”
“…Huh?” Caught by surprise, he made a dumb-sounding noise. “Didn’t I tell you? Do you know about Demiurge’s healing experiments?”
“Yes. The one where he cuts off all four limbs and then casts healing magic on them?”
“Yes. So here’s the next question. Do you know where you cast resurrection magic?”
“On the corpse, no?”
“…No! Er, I don’t think so?”
Ainz and Albedo both ruminated on that until Albedo’s face suddenly brightened.
“Oh! I was wrong. It’s as you said, Lord Ainz, not the corpse but the soul.”
“That’s right. In Demiurge’s experiments, the severed limbs vanished and then grew out of the body. So what happens to the body when you cast resurrection magic on the soul?”
In Yggdrasil, there were four outcomes when casting resurrection magic on someone (which also dealt the penalty of lost XP). The first was that they would revive on the spot. The second was that they would revive at the entrance to the dungeon or wherever. The third was that they would revive in a safe town nearby. And the fourth was that they would revive at their designated home point, such as their guild’s headquarters.
So what would happen when resurrection magic was cast in this world? It goes without saying that Ainz was most worried about the fourth version, the home point revival. If Nigun’s home point was inside the Slane Theocracy, it would be like idiotically doing his enemy the favor of bringing him back to life and sending him home armed with intelligence.
That’s why they hadn’t been able to do resurrection experiments, although refraining had some negative consequences for them as well.
“I see, so that’s why. That is definitely something to be careful about. I would expect nothing less, Lord Ainz. I’m impressed by your wise inferences.”
As Albedo bowed her head, sighing in admiration, Ainz quickly shook his head. “It’s fine, really. But we do need to do those experiments sometime…ngh. Okay, let’s cheer up now.”
Ainz walked farther into the forest with Albedo guiding him.
A clearing deep in the forest.
Standing in that pastoral setting was a crimson suit of armor that looked out of place. Sparkling in the sun, it did have the air of a hallucination about it, but the smell of fresh blood ruined that.
It was Shalltear.
She hadn’t changed a bit from when they’d seen her using Crystal Monitor. They couldn’t even detect any sign that she’d moved. Ainz was even assailed momentarily by the illusion that he was still staring at that screen.
But this had some reality to it: the raw scent of spraying blood.
Ainz breathed in and out. Of course, his body couldn’t actually breathe, so he just pretended. Or he just approached things as if he were breathing.
“Shalltear,” he called out to her—not in a pathetic, quietly hoarse voice, but one that Ainz thought was filled with gravity.
But there was no reply.
Before calling out again, Ainz took a good look at her. She wasn’t ignoring him. Her wide-open crimson eyes were vacant; it was hard to imagine she was conscious.
Upon seeing Shalltear, Albedo’s anger flared up. “Shalltear! Not only do you have no excuse, you dare be so rude to our mas—”
“Albedo, you’re in the way! Silence! Don’t move! You’re not permitted to go anywhere near her!”
Albedo had put one foot forward, but Ainz held her back with his harsh tone. Normally Ainz would almost never take that attitude with the NPCs his guildmates created, but this time he lost control of himself. That’s how shocked he was by the state Shalltear was in.
“…Could this be…? Is it possible? …I can’t believe it.”
A scene he’d witnessed once overlapped with the way Shalltear looked now, and it disturbed him deeply. Just at that moment, his emotions stabilized, and he calmly concluded that that possibility was the most likely.
Ainz began talking to Albedo. By telling someone else, maybe he would be able to digest it himself. “Now we know for sure. Shalltear is currently under mind control.”
“Is it due to the reason you mentioned in the Throne Room?”
“That I don’t know… When we were gathering information from the Sunlit Scripture captives, it was similar. This is definitely the result of mind control. There’s still the question of why it worked on Shalltear, since she’s undead, but it must be something special, unique to this world.”
Ainz crossed his arms and looked hard at her as she remained standing stock-still. “Someone put her under mind control, but something must have happened before they could give her orders. Perhaps they defeated each other at the same time… So her orders are blank. That’s just a guess, though. But if we get into point-blank range or attack, she may take defensive action. For someone with an alignment that leans toward evil, that generally means an attack. Don’t approach her carelessly.”
“Understood. But that means we can’t just restrain her by force and take her back to Nazarick… Spending time here is fine if the one mind controlling her is dead, but if they’re still alive, it could be dangerous to linger…”
“You’re exactly right.” How Shalltear was put under mind control was a mystery. Maybe there was some ability that also worked on undead and existed only in this world. If that was the case, staying there could put Ainz in danger of being mind controlled as well. “Using this is a bit of a waste, but I want to cancel the mind control as quickly as possible.”
Ainz moved his fingers. The ring he was wearing was a plain band, no jewels. The silver light revealed engravings of three shootings stars. This was the most powerful ring Ainz owned.
“Is that…?”
In response to Albedo’s curious expression, he flashed a triumphant smile (although his face didn’t move) and said its name. “This is the super-ultrarare item Shooting Star that lets you use the super-tier spell Wish Upon a Star three times without using any XP.”
This was the gacha item he’d blown through his bonuses trying to get. It was an item so rare that the only two Ainz Ooal Gown members who possessed one were Ainz and Yamaiko. Or maybe it was just proof of how much money he stupidly spent in-game.
The spell it contained, Wish Upon a Star, was set up so that the user was granted random wishes in proportion to how many experience points were spent—i.e., 10 percent granted one, 50 percent granted five.
There were quite a few possibilities. In fact, according to one strategy site, there were over two hundred. And there were some that were more likely to be granted and some that were less likely to be granted, so it was a spell that came with the fear of using all of one’s experience points for nothing.
Also, to even acquire this spell, one had to reach level 95 as a caster. Even in Yggdrasil, where leveling went quickly, experience points were pretty important at such a high level, to the point where players were reluctant to mess around with spending them.
The wishes that were granted by this item’s casting of Wish Upon a Star were also completely random, but useful ones were more likely to be granted than jokey ones, so it wasn’t an exaggeration to say this version of the spell was even more elite. And the most wishes it could grant at once was ten. The cast time for the super-tier spell was also zero—this ring was truly one of the best cash items in the game.
Using this extraordinary item—even if it was a gamble—did seem like a bit of a waste, but it wasn’t worth losing Shalltear. Still, he hesitated because he knew he had other skills that would use up his surplus experience points.
Ainz gazed at the ring.
The wish he was aiming for would cancel all status effects on his target. He had a few other candidates in mind, but that seemed the most direct way to do it. Since it also canceled beneficial status effects, it wasn’t a very popular choice in-game, and he laughed at himself now.
“Okay, ring. I wish!” Of course, he could activate the item without shouting, but the fervent hope that out of over two hundred wishes, something that fit the situation would be granted made him do it. It was like how people yelled when rolling the die that would decide their bet.
Yggdrasil’s magic worked in this world, the same way it had in the game, so Ainz was sure the ring’s power would cancel the mysterious mind control Shalltear was under. At least, he wanted to think that it would.
Ainz’s biggest fear, that it wouldn’t cast, hadn’t been necessary. The ring unleashed its power in this world as well—and the red flames in Ainz’s eye sockets shrank. “What…is this…?”
It was like new information was being loaded into his brain—an unpleasant feeling. At the same time, he felt connected to something enormous—a happy feeling. Ainz was assaulted by a bunch of sensations he’d had back when he was human.
When the wave subsided, Ainz realized that Wish Upon a Star in this world was something totally different from what it had been in Yggdrasil.
When he’d learned of Nfirea’s talent, he had fantasized that maybe he could steal it using Wish Upon a Star, and it turned out that that was not off the mark. Wish Upon a Star had changed into a spell that could grant his wish. It did depend on how many experience points he spent, but it was a spell that could make the impossible possible. It had also transformed in this world so that by sacrificing five levels—using 500 percent of his experience points—it could grant more powerful wishes.
Now he was convinced he could cancel the effects of the spell Shalltear was under, and he shouted victoriously, “Remove all of Shalltear’s status effects!” His voice echoed, and a second later, the flames in his eyes blazed larger.
“Wh-what?!”
Sensing the change in their situation from how shaken Ainz was, Albedo asked anxiously, “Wh-what’s the matter, Lord Ainz?”
He couldn’t manage a reply. He put together all his experience playing Yggdrasil, all the info he’d gotten off the strategy sites, and the various things he’d learned since coming to this world. And most critically, he also had the information about using Wish Upon a Star that had flooded into his head as if to overwrite his knowledge when he’d tried to use it before.
When he finally came to a conclusion, he was assailed by unbelievable levels of panic and rage. And despite the fact that he should have stabilized if he felt anything more, what he felt most of all was…fear.
Flustered, he shouted, “W-we’re withdrawing! Albedo, get over here! Now!”
“Y-yes, sir!”
Ainz immediately cast a teleportation spell, and in the next instant, they saw a hilly landscape. They’d arrived back at home, which was safe, but he still gave orders as if there was no time to lose. “Albedo! Be on guard for anyone teleporting after us!”
“Sir!” She drew her weapon and stood right next to Ainz. Ainz also braced himself with both arms free so he could react flexibly to their situation.
Some time passed like that, and finally Ainz’s tension began to ease. Albedo also returned from a fighting stance, with hips lowered, to her normal posture.
“Shit!” After the tension passed, Ainz felt intense anger. Since becoming an undead, strong emotions were automatically suppressed, but every moment a new fury swept over him. “Shit! Shit! Shit!” He kicked at the ground a few times. His uncommon strength caused a lot of dirt to get kicked up. If it hadn’t rained a few days ago, he probably would’ve made a huge cloud of dust. But his anger still hadn’t abated.
“L-Lord Ainz, please still your…anger…”
Hearing the hint of fear in Albedo’s voice, he finally realized he wasn’t acting very much like an absolute master. His calm made a swift return, and he exhaled deeply, despite not being able to breathe, to let out the flames that were burning him up.
“Sorry, it seems I lost it a bit there. Please forget what you just saw.”
“That’s no problem at all. More importantly, thank you for listening to me! If you order me to forget it, Lord Ainz, then forget it I shall. But…what happened? What upset you so much? If you tell me, I’ll make it so it never happens again!”
“…It wasn’t about you, Albedo. The ring activated, but I found out it couldn’t grant the wish.” From Albedo’s silence, Ainz realized he needed to explain further. “…There’s only one power that the super-tier spell Wish Upon a Star can’t beat.” Before, there had been the possibility of something unique to this world being the issue, but Ainz spoke with the conviction that he now knew that wasn’t the case. He had felt it when he tried casting the spell.
“Y-you mean…a…?”
“Yes, Albedo. There’s only one thing it could be—a World Item.”
There were two hundred of them in Yggdrasil, items far stronger than even Guild Weapons and god items. Yes, for a World Item, it would probably be simple to put an undead, who should have been immune to psychic effects, under mind control.
Then Ainz remembered the other guardians who were outside Nazarick. It was possible they were also being targeted. Kicking himself for not thinking of it sooner, he said, “Albedo, have all the guardians in the field return. When they get back, we need to check if they are under any mind control like Shalltear. To the Throne Room immediately! After that…the treasury.”